Eating Vegan – Nando’s UK

Despite its very chicken vibe, Nando's is one of the best places in most towns to eat as a vegan, with nine different hot mains for us (sure they are rooted in three different bases, but they're different 😉) and four main meal salads. Having quickly become one of the most popular chains in the UK, I'm pretty sure some of your friends visit regularly, but now you don't need to be put off by the usual “but you can't eat there, it's a chicken restaurant!” (Especially as there are actually now 13 veggie mains!).

Check out the items below that are suitable for vegans:

Last updated: 15 July 2018

Appeteasers

Houmous with PERi-PERi Drizzle – Pour smoky PERi-PERi oil over creamy houmous and dig in with strips of warm pitta.

Garlic Bread – With a touch of chilli. This item has a possible cross-contamination warning, but doesn't actually contain any dairy.

Mains

Sweet Potato & Butternut Burger – Made with red pepper, onion, edamame beans, and a hint of smoked paprika. Served in a bun with lettuce, tomato, and mayo. Ask for it without mayo.

Sweet Potato & Butternut Wrap – Made with red pepper, onion, edamame beans, and a hint of smoked paprika. Served in a wrap with lettuce, lightly spiced yogurt mayo, and chilli jam. Ask for it without yoghurt mayo.

Sweet Potato & Butternut Pitta – Made with red pepper, onion, edamame beans, and a hint of smoked paprika. Served in a pitta with lettuce, semidried PERi tomatoes, cucumber moons, and mayo. Ask for it without mayo.

Supergreen Burger – Made with broccoli, edamame beans, kale, and a touch of mint. Served in a bun with lettuce, tomato, and mayo. Ask for it without mayo.

Supergreen Wrap – Made with broccoli, edamame beans, kale, and a touch of mint. Served in a wrap with lettuce, lightly spiced yogurt mayo, and chilli jam. Ask for it without yoghurt mayo.

Supergreen Pitta – Made with broccoli, edamame beans, kale, and a touch of mint. Served in a pitta with lettuce, semidried PERi tomatoes, cucumber moons, and mayo. Ask for it without mayo.

Portobello Mushroom & Halloumi Burger – Roasted portobello mushroom and grilled halloumi cheese served in a bun with lettuce, tomato, and mayo. Ask for it without the halloumi and mayo.

Portobello Mushroom & Halloumi Wrap – Roasted portobello mushroom and grilled halloumi cheese served in a wrap with lettuce, lightly spiced yogurt mayo, and chilli jam. Ask for it without the halloumi and yoghurt mayo.

Portobello Mushroom & Halloumi Pitta – Roasted portobello mushroom and grilled halloumi cheese served in a pitta with lettuce, semidried PERi tomatoes, cucumber moons, and mayo. Ask for it without the halloumi and mayo.

Supergrain Salad – A fresh mix of grains, greens, and beans with avocado chunks and an avocado & buttermilk dressing, served on mixed salad leaves. Ask for it without the avocado & buttermilk dressing.

Sauces

Mango & Lime

Lemon & Herb

Medium

Hot

Extra Hot

Sides

Garlic Bread – With a touch of chilli. This item has a possible cross-contamination warning, but doesn't actually contain any dairy.

Mixed Leaf Side Salad

Chips

PERi Salted Chips

Corn on the Cob – Make sure you ask for this without the butter.

Supergrain Salad – Grains, greens and full of beans with an avocado & buttermilk dressing. Ask for it without the avocado and buttermilk dressing.

I suppose that it MAY be passable to visit such a place with friends who are not vegan, but so many of the vegetarian dishes become very dull when you take away the cheese etc. which leaves no protein in many cases as well.
Vegans should not be prepared to put up with these tasteless alternatives. If vegans really wanted to make like easier for themselves and others, they would open their own caterers and provide delicious food to entice vegans, vegetarians and meat-eaters. Most customers to vegetarian restaurants usually eat meat, and are attracted, for various reasons to the varied and tasty food available.
Where is that pioneering spirit from the beginning of the 20th. Century, when veggies opened factories and shops around the U K to spread their humane ideas. Why work for the enemy, as so many people do?

[…] chains are starting to realise that there’s a market to be served. You can get vegan options in Nando’s (the veggie burger without mayo and the chips are good, as is the sweetcorn side – your server […]

Hey, just wanted to update you as we checked the allergy info on the website as we wanted to get Nandos last weekend, the veggie burger patties contain eggs as an ingredient, not as cross contamination. They have for sure changed the entire menu since this post was originally made as there was extremely little available to us even when asking my for things without cheese etc

Hi Amy, they have confirmed that the patties don’t have egg, and it comes up as containing egg (rather than cross contamination) as they take the whole thing into account (i.e. with the mayo – which has eggs in it). So as long as you ask for it without the mayo (or yogurt in the wrap) then you should be safe 🙂
i have also updated the whole post after talking to Nando’s – it’s grown! 🙂

With 500,000 vegans nationwide apparently, surely we could open 1000 catering establishments with 5 vegan staff in each, and that’s only using 1% of vegans.
What will all the other vegans do to help spread the lifestyle?
1000 Health Food and organic stores- another 1%
1000 regular cookery demonstrations- another 1%
1000 local societies and groups meeting weekly or more frequently- another 1%
1000 mobile caterers/stalls at markets and in town centres- another 1%
That’s only 5% of vegans active.
What will all the rest do?

Nandos cook their veggie burgers on the same grill with the Chicken – contamination is common !!

My wife found Chicken in her veggie wrap and when she complained to Nandos head office they sent her a letter explaining that they are a chicken shop, they sell chicken. They offer food called “veggie” but nowhere say it is vegetarian or claim that it is. The letter said they tell their staff to “try” to scrape as much chicken off as possible before cooking a veggie burger, but if you want vegetarian food to eat somewhere else, and sorry they won’t see you again.

Wow…I can’t believe that so many vegans would choose to eat in a place that is responsible for the death of so many chickens!
Also, do you seriously believe that everybody working in those kitchens gives a f*** about cross contamination?
Ian’s comments sum up their attitude really.

The medium sauce at Nandos is NOT vegan. You need to change this on here as I made the mistake of ordering it and luckily a member of staff informed me it is not vegan. It’s only suitable for Vegetarians.

I’m a vegan who works at Nando’s, and the spicy rice has just been made vegan! I don’t think the website has been updated yet and it might not yet be in all the stores, but it is happening. Ask to check the box (it has ingredients listed on the label) in the restaurant, they’ll be able to show it to you.